


to bee or not to bee

by yutakittyzen



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Beekeeper Taeyong, Jungwoo best friend, M/M, Nakamoto Yuta is Whipped, Taeyong Best Boy, but yuta hates honey, jungwoo is straightforward, small mention of doyoung ex, taeyong has a stupid stall name, yutae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27248200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yutakittyzen/pseuds/yutakittyzen
Summary: “So there’s this new stall at the market and this cute boy owns it and he’s a beekeeper,” Yuta lets out in one breath. “And I bought honey from him.”“I thought you hated honey?”“Well, technically I didn’t buy the honey, Taeyong gave them to me.”
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Nakamoto Yuta
Comments: 5
Kudos: 73





	to bee or not to bee

**Author's Note:**

> Helloo again 
> 
> This is my second fic on here, this time she's Yutae (Cherry Bomb era specifically) so I'm pretty excited about that  
> I found this prompt on Tumblr and now I can't find the post so can't credit properly grrrr not quite sure if I did it justice but I hope I did huhu
> 
> Anyway, thanks for clicking on this fic, I hope you like it! :)

Yuta always loved this small, quaint neighborhood. 

He adored the way everyone knew each other, the quiet yet cheery atmosphere. But most of all, he loved the Farmer’s Market that was held every Sunday at the park. That was probably the main reason why Yuta chose to move here, in the building right next to the park. And it got even better when he got his best friend to move in with him too. 

“Yuu, add bread to that shopping list, we just ran out,” Jungwoo calls out from the kitchen, alerting Yuta in the living room, who was busy typing the said list into his phone.

The black-haired boy only hums in response. He peers up at the big window in front of him, softly smiling to himself knowing that the weather today was just right for his weekly shopping trip. The cool autumn breeze was calling him already.

Yuta never thought he would live in a place like this. He always thought he would end up living in the city, working a corporate job as his parents would’ve wanted for him. Hell, they wanted him to be a doctor, to which Yuta only grimaces. He could never imagine himself dressed up in a white coat, running around a hospital, and attending to sick strangers. Don’t get him wrong, it’s an honorable occupation, it’s just not for him. Nowadays, he works as a freelance artist. It doesn’t bring him much money, but it gets the bills paid. It’s a good thing Jungwoo has a stable job as a DJ, so whenever Yuta was short on funds, he was always there to help. But Yuta hated the fact that he had to rely on Jungwoo sometimes, even when Jungwoo insisted that it was fine. The Japanese boy often finds himself thanking the universe for giving him a friend like Jungwoo, even when he gets teased most of the time for his stupid impulses.

The walk to the park didn’t take long, and before he knew it, Yuta found himself treading through the different wooden stalls of all sizes scattered across the vast expanse of the green grass, a concrete brick road guiding the path through them.

Yuta received a few greetings from people he knew here and there as he gathered the items indicated on his digital list, crossing them off as he went. And soon enough, his tote bags were filled with fresh produce, some of Jungwoo’s favorite yogurt, and the loaf of bread that Jungwoo added last minute. His arms ached at the weight of his bags but that didn’t stop him from wandering around his favorite place in the neighborhood, even when they were always the same stalls. Some would come and go, but they would always be the same ones. Though this time, he caught a glimpse of an obnoxiously bright yellow stall right at the end corner of the market. 

_Who the fuck picked that paint color_ , Yuta thought, already silently judging whoever owned the stall.

But that didn’t stop him from actually taking steps toward it.

He tried making guesses before getting to know the name of the stall. It might be a cheese stall? That would be nice since he had to go to the little grocery store a few blocks away to get cheese. As he inched closer, he noticed a head of light pink hair. He was standing inside the stall, his torso adorned with a white button-up shirt, on his face was the most dazzling smile he has sworn he’s laid his eyes on, behind him were jars of what he assumed to be honey, all with different yellow labels. Yuta’s cheeks immediately blushed crimson at the sight of the boy. 

_Damn._

He curiously peeks at the stall sign installed on its top portion, immediately eager to learn more about this boy. _To Bee or Not to Bee._

The loudest snort erupted from the black-haired boy, his chest shaking from the laughter he is desperately trying to suppress. He was so sure that the weird glances from passersby were targeted at him, but he couldn’t really care less as he stared at the ridiculous sign this stall-owner thought of. Yuta immediately liked this guy, he was cute, and for sure had a good sense of humor given his obnoxious stall. Though there is one small problem.

Yuta hated honey. 

But how else could he talk to the boy? Bee boy may not even be here next week for all he knows. No, he couldn’t waste his chance. Even just a small conversation would suffice.

The black-haired boy surprised himself when his feet were suddenly leading him to the yellow stall. His breathing gets heavy as he desperately digs through his mind for something to say. Would a ‘hello’ do? No he’s got to be cooler than that. ‘Hey how’s it going?’, no, Yuta doesn’t even know the guy. Why did this have to be so hard-

“Hey there! Would you like to taste some honey?” A deep yet friendly voice sounded from in front of Yuta. It was bee boy.

It seemed to have startled Yuta a bit, his hands clutching his bags tighter. Bee boy lets out a nervous laugh.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, it’s just that you’re the first person to check out my stall today.”

Yuta blinks a few times before responding. “No, it’s okay, I’m just a little jumpy today is all.”

“So would you like to try some? I have all kinds!”

As much as Yuta wanted to refuse, he just didn’t have the heart to say no. Especially with those cute puppy-like eyes staring into his, and the excitement laced in bee boy’s voice. It warmed Yuta to know that he was the first person to walk up to him.

“Sure,” Yuta said, flashing a friendly smile at bee boy, settling his bags on the cement path.

Bee boy wasn’t joking when he said he had all kinds of honey. Endless wooden teaspoons entered Yuta’s mouth, coating his mouth in the sickly sweet liquid he despised the most. It took everything in him not to gag every time the honey touched his tongue. But there’s nothing he could’ve done, he brought this upon himself. Though he could’ve sworn he didn’t mind, as long as he saw the smile on bee boy’s face every time he complimented the honey. He was so enthusiastic and it was infectious, through suppressed gags, Yuta found himself smiling. Bee boy’s eyes literally sparkled whenever he explained the honey he was feeding the black-haired boy. How could he already adore this boy he didn’t even know the name of?

“Where do you get all this honey, by the way?” Yuta sets down the teaspoon on the tissue provided for him.

“Oh, I’m actually a beekeeper.”

“Aren’t you afraid of getting stung?”

Laughter escapes from bee boy’s mouth, his eyes scrunching shut as his head tilted back. His laugh was hearty, Yuta liked it. He liked making this boy laugh.

“Hey, it’s a genuine question,” Yuta laughs along.

“I just like the way that that’s what everyone asks me first when I tell them I’m a beekeeper,” bee boy pauses. “I just don’t think I would be in this job if I was afraid of getting stung.”

Yuta hums in agreement, “Touché.”

“I have another question.”

“Go for it,” Bee boy smiles.

“Why the hell is your stall called to bee or not to bee?”

“Hey don’t judge her, it took me a couple of days to come up with,” Bee boy defends, yet laughs at the end.

Yuta raises his arms up in defense as he lets out a breath of a laugh. “Okay, okay, I was just wondering.”

“Hey, I never caught your name.”

“It’s Nakamoto Yuta.”

“Are you a foreigner?”

“Yeah, I’m from Japan. I moved to Korea when I turned 20.”

“That’s so cool, I’m probably too much of a wimp to move to another country alone,” bee boy holds his hand out. “I’m Lee Taeyong by the way.”

Yuta reaches out to shake Taeyong’s hand and it almost embarrasses him how much butterflies erupted in his stomach the moment their hands touched.

“Well, Nakamoto Yuta, in honor of being my first customer and our newfound friendship. You’re getting free jars from me every week!” Taeyong exclaims excitedly, already busying himself with packing the honey jars in paper bags.

_Boy, what did I get myself into._

It surprised Jungwoo when Yuta came home with two large bags of honey. The glass jars clinked against each other when the Japanese boy dropped the bags on the kitchen floor, rushing to the fridge to get himself a cold glass of water which he gulped down in a matter of seconds. As Yuta expected, Jungwoo’s immediate reaction was to drag him to the couch and playfully tease and prod him until he starts recounting the events prior to his arrival at home. 

“Jungwoo, I have a problem.”

“Clearly,” Jungwoo retorted, gesturing over to the bags of honey sitting on the kitchen floor.

“So there’s this new stall at the market and this cute boy owns it and he’s a beekeeper,” Yuta lets out in one breath. “And I bought honey from him.”

“I thought you hated honey?”

“Well, technically I didn’t buy the honey, Taeyong gave them to me.”

“No way, you sweet talked him into giving you honey?” Jungwoo gasps dramatically, his hand travelling to cover his open mouth.

“Why the hell would I sweet talk him into giving honey,” Yuta couldn’t help but sheepishly smile at the recent memory. “More like _he_ sweet talked _me_.”

“Oh my lord, you fucking simp,” Jungwoo whispers under his breath, earning a a hard smack on the shoulder from Yuta. “Ow! What the hell?”

“Serves you right,” Yuta huffs as Jungwoo rubbed the sore spot on his shoulder. 

“Hey,” Yuta looks up to Jungwoo scooting closer to him.

“This beekeeper guy seems really nice, I kind of like him already for you.”

“You said the exact same thing about d-word,” Yuta pointed out.

“Don’t take my word for it, I’m not some sort of psychic, I base on vibes” Jungwoo defends himself. “Besides, it’s about time you started dating again.”

“How are you so sure he would even like me? He probably won’t be there next week for all I know.”

“Just go with the flow, bee.”

“Did you just call me bee?”

“You bet your ass I did.”

Sure enough the following Sunday, Yuta found himself trekking through the boring wooden stalls toward the obnoxious yellow one he’s been yearning to see all week. He lets out the breath he’s been holding out of anticipation. 

Over the past week, Yuta found himself thinking about Taeyong a lot. Every time his eyes caught a glance of the jars of honey sitting stagnantly on his kitchen counter, he remembered Taeyong’s honey-like personality. Sweet, and enticing. The amber color it emitted also reminded Yuta of the way the sunlight hit Taeyong’s irises. Never in Yuta’s life did he encounter a person so puppy-like. Eyes and all. His enthusiastic persona was a stark contrast to Yuta’s usual cool demeanor. And strangely, Yuta liked it. He spent his time counting down the days until he could see Taeyong again. That was, if he was still there at the park. And alas, he was.

“Yuta!” Taeyong waves with both his arms from the stall, flashing an eye smile.

Yuta couldn’t hold down the big smile taking over his face, holding his hand up and waving back.

“It’s so nice to see you again! Do you come here every week?” Taeyong wore a simple black shirt today, his pink hair still the floppy mess it was from the week before.

“Yeah, I do. It’s sort of my weekly grocery shopping kind of thing,” Yuta explains. “Plus my roommate literally eats like a cow so I really have to come every week.”

Taeyong lets out a chuckle. “So how’s the honey I gave you? Did your cow eat that up too?”

Truth be told, Jungwoo wasn’t so fond of honey either. But he would probably eat it if you served it to him. But all in all, only one of the jars of honey were eaten, but only a tiny teaspoon of it which Jungwoo tasted on a small piece of toast. Jungwoo claimed it was good but never touched it again. A scammer is what Yuta calls him. The black-haired boy couldn’t believe that the only person he could count on to finish the honey couldn’t finish the damn honey. So they just laid there and Yuta has no idea what to do with them.

“Ate them right up, he loves them,” Yuta lies. 

“Well, I’m glad,” Taeyong smiles. “So it’s a good thing you were my first customer, so I get to give you this.”

Yuta watches as Taeyong pulls out a medium-size cardboard box, tied up with some twine. It looked as if it jumped out from a hipster diy tutorial. The all too familiar clinking noise emerged from it when Taeyong set it on the thin wooden plank on his stall. Yuta internally groans as he is well aware of what Taeyong was about to give him. 

The Japanese boy tries to act surprised. “Woah, what’s with the box?”

“I didn’t want to give you just honey, so this time, I included some honeycomb plus a honey stick so you can manage the liquid better, and cheeses that I know go well with them,” Taeyong explains. “A honey kit if you will, I put it together last night in case you passed by today.”

Yuta’s heart soared at the thought of Taeyong going all out for him, even without the assurance that he was going to visit the stall. Though he’s so friendly he probably would’ve done this for anyone.

“Oh that’s… nice.”

“Do you not like it?” Taeyong pouts.

Yuta mentally smacks himself. “No, I love it! I just didn’t know what to say.”

“I think a thank you would suffice,” Taeyong lightly laughs. 

“Thank you, Taeyong. My cow and I will use this well,” Yuta bows slightly.

“Stop being so polite, we’re friends now!”

Friends. Yuta liked that.

It didn’t take long before visiting Taeyong’s stall became routine for Yuta. It came as naturally as breathing. His weekly market stroll’s main focus was getting to Taeyong’s stall, having a conversation with him and bringing home yet again more jars of honey after the encounter. Jungwoo found this particularly amusing, teasing the Japanese boy whenever he came home with new bags of the amber liquid. The pair had multiple discussions on what to do with the stacked jars currently being hoarded in their household. But every single one proved to be a difficult task, not one of them had a good idea. None of them had any relatives or friends that lived nearby, Yuta was too shy to give them away to neighbors, and Jungwoo couldn’t do it either. They considered throwing them, but Yuta didn’t have the heart to do so. That was the fruit of Taeyong’s labor, and he wouldn’t want that to go to waste, the guilt would eat him alive.

Other than his honey problem, Yuta had a significantly bigger one, and it’s not something he could easily get rid of. 

He had a giant crush on Taeyong. And he knew it wasn’t not going away any time soon. Yuta knew from the first time he saw Taeyong that he was attracted to him. He liked the way he looked, the way he held himself, and the way he treated Yuta. There wasn’t a single bad bone in Taeyong’s body. He did everything with intention, it was as if he poured all his love and care into his movements. Taeyong is gentle, he probably wouldn’t even hurt a fly, but he was fierce when it came to defending the people he loved. Yuta yearned to be one of those people. Over the course of time he visited Taeyong’s stall, he just fell deeper and deeper. Yuta was in a vacuum-sealed bag and Taeyong was his only source of oxygen. The stress from not being able to earn money that week was immediately eliminated once he caught sight of the yellow stall. Knowing that his bee boy was once again there to save the day, well, week. There was no way of knowing for Yuta whether Taeyong liked him back or not. But Yuta wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.

“Yuta, I need help.”

“What is it?”

“I’m thinking of expanding my product line...”

Yuta hums, encouraging Taeyong to continue.

“And I have no idea what products to add.”

Yuta clicks his tongue, leaning on his elbows resting on the wooden plank. “I think you should start with changing your stall name.”

“Yeah, nice try, that’s not going to happen,” Taeyong laughs lightly, turning around to continue wiping his display jars.

“But _why_?” Yuta whines.

“Because you’re the only one who thinks it’s bad, plus, it’s such a customer-magnet.”

“At least I tried,” Yuta sighed playfully as Taeyong’s rag was tossed onto his shoulder. “But honestly, I can’t think of anything on the spot.”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about this since last night and my brain cells failed me apparently.”

Yuta’s brain cells did not fail him the way Taeyong’s did. He had a good idea.

“We can just exchange numbers, and if I do think of something, I’ll just send you a message.”

Taeyong covers the gasp that escaped his mouth before messily going through his little fanny pack in search of his phone. “Gosh, I can’t believe we’ve been friends for this long and I still don’t have your number.”

One point for Yuta.

Yuta went home that day punching his fists into the air in victory, well, as much as he could with an armful of grocery-filled tote bags. He couldn’t care less about the weird stares he received from passing strangers. Nothing else mattered, he just single handedly took his relationship with Taeyong to the next level. And it was a shame that Jungwoo wasn’t home when Yuta came back as he was out to prepare for a gig. After putting the groceries away, the giddy black-haired boy laid on the sofa, stretching his whole body in search of a comfortable position. His fingers tapped away on his phone, looking for Taeyong’s contact.

**Yuta** **  
** Hey

  
  


**Taeyong** **  
** Thank god u texted, I’m getting so bored here  
Do you have product ideas already?

  
  


**Yuta** **  
** You’re such a baby  
No, I don’t, just wanted to test out if u gave me ur actual number

  
  


**Taeyong** **  
** Your baby : )  
Don’t u trust me ://

A gasp-slash-yelp escaped Yuta’s mouth at Taeyong’s last message. His face burning red, and his mouth turning into a smile that he just couldn’t shake off.

**Yuta** **  
** Excuse me mister taeyong r u flirting with me?

  
  


**Taeyong** **  
** No bc i literally am a baby

Jungwoo came home that night expecting to see Yuta fast asleep as he wasn’t much of a night owl. But to his surprise, the Japanese boy was still sitting on the sofa, in absolute darkness, giggling to himself. Sure enough, as soon as Yuta was alerted of his presence, he was bombarded with an earful of stories of the one and only bee boy. Jungwoo didn’t mind though, he was a sucker for blooming love stories. 

Another cycle began with the pair, their weekly in-person encounters were added with 24/7 texting. But ironically, not once did they talk about how to expand Taeyong’s product line. Texting helped the pair know each other better. They talked about anything and everything, it surprised Yuta how much they got along. The first time he saw Taeyong, he was only looking for at least conversation with him yet here they are building fortresses with their words. Yuta learned new things about Taeyong, like his love for animals, his older sister whom he loves dearly, his childhood best friend Youngho, his fear of ghosts from watching this horror movie with his friends, and how he found satisfaction in raising things, so he was planning to buy a fish tank to make with Youngho. Yuta found him fascinating. Even when he knew a lot, he wanted to know more, he _wanted_ more. His crush on Taeyong was slowly morphing into something Yuta was yearning to feel again.

Love.

It took him a while to admit to both himself and Jungwoo, but he concluded that he loved Taeyong. He loved the way his eyes peered into his the first time they met, he loved the sound of Taeyong’s laughter, he loved his caring nature, he loved that Taeyong tries to act all tough when he’s actually quite sensitive, he loved that Taeyong follows his heart in everything he does. He could stay up all night to just daydream the next time he met with bee boy. He loved Taeyong, and that was that. 

**Taeyong**

You know what i think

  
  


**Yuta** **  
** I don’t

  
  


**Taeyong**

Hmp

  
  


**Yuta**

jkjk what is it

  
  


**Taeyong** **  
** We’ve been friends for like more than half a year now

  
  


**Yuta**

yes…? 

  
  


**Taeyong**

Don’t u think we should hangout? Like outside of the market and all that

  
  


**Yuta**

Oh wow you’re right…

I dont think there are any good cafes nearby

  
  


**Taeyong**

It doesn’t have to be a cafe 

Idk a lot of places here im kinda new sdjfljwelfjw

  
  


**Yuta**

What about my place? I think i make pretty good coffee c:

  
  


**Taeyong**

Sounds good!!

Is Thursday okay?

  
  


**Yuta**

Yes aaa see you!!

Yuta only feels the weight of what’s about to happen the moment he texted his last message. Did he really just invite bee boy over to his apartment? He really just mindlessly invited Lee Taeyong to his apartment. 

A day wasn’t enough for Yuta to mentally prepare himself for Taeyong’s visit. He couldn’t even pinpoint exactly what made him nervous. It wasn’t like hanging out at his apartment was that much different to hanging out at the market. They would still be conversing, talking the way they did for the past few months. But the thought of being a lot more close and intimate at the apartment kept lingering at the back of Yuta’s mind. It sent shivers down his spine. But it was kind of a relief to Yuta that Jungwoo didn’t have any gigs that Thursday, knowing he was going to get all the moral support he needed. 

After all, what’s the worst thing that could happen?

“Wait, so you invited him?”

“Yeah.”

“Today?”

“Today.”

Jungwoo raised an eyebrow at the Japanese boy. “You mean to tell me you invited him to come today with our honey stash out in the open like that?”

Yuta’s heart immediately drops to his ass when reality sinks in. He completely forgot about the mountain of honey currently residing in their home.

The accumulated honey jars were everywhere in the house, through more than half a year of receiving honey from Taeyong, it also covered almost half of the apartment. Honey jars were on the coffee table, on the countertops, on top of the fridge, in the cupboards, outside the cupboards, hell, there were even some under the sink.

“Jesus fuck, he’s going to be here any minute.”

“Then let’s get our asses moving then!” Jungwoo pushes Yuta aside to grab an armful of honey jars from the kitchen. “Where should we hide them?”

Yuta runs a hand through his hair as he digs through his brain to think of a temporary solution to his honey problem. “The bathroom?”

“The bathroom,” Jungwoo confirms.

The pair ran around the house with armfuls of honey with every trip to the only bathroom in the place. Every now and then glancing at the black clock displayed on top of the bathroom door. Every minute passed by felt like a millisecond, and Yuta’s heart pounded at the thought of Taeyong seeing his honey mess. He would be absolutely mortified. He didn’t want Taeyong to think wrongly of him. That was probably Yuta’s worst nightmare.

Soon enough, the bathroom floor was covered with honey jars, the bathtub filled almost halfway through. The two boys rushed around to arrange the honey to make sure they won’t topple over and alert their awaited guest.

  
_Knock. Knock._

Yuta’s eyes widen, his fingers laying frozen on the jar he was trying to arrange. “That must be him.”

“Go, I’ll take care of the mess here, just shut the door.”

“Jungwoo I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I’ll take that as a thank you, now go!” Jungwoo urges.

Yuta nods and walks out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him as Jungwoo instructed. The pounding of his heart rang through his ears knowing that the person he considered the love of his life stood at the opposite side of the door he was facing. It wasn’t long before the wooden door was opened to reveal Taeyong behind it. He wore a bright smile on his face, to which Yuta melted at. He looked a lot more casual than usual, he was only wearing sweatpants and a sweater. And in his hands was... more honey.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Yuta smiles. “Come on in.”

The two boys made their way into the apartment, soon settling on the couch after Yuta silently put away the new honey Taeyong gave him and offered him a beverage to which bee boy declined. The calming atmosphere Taeyong gave would have been a comfort to Yuta if it wasn’t his honey-filled bathroom sitting in the back of his mind.

“Wow, I knew your place was going to be nice, but not _this_ nice,” Taeyong comments with awe evident in his tone as he leaned back on the soft couch.

Yuta plasters a tight-lipped smile on his face, silently willing himself not to let his nervousness show on it. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

He adds a gentle nudge to Taeyong’s shoulder who was currently situated on the seat across him.

Taeyong lets out his signature laugh, turning his head to face Yuta. “Nothing.”

Yuta sighed at the sound of Taeyong’s laugh, it gave him the same feeling it did when he first heard it. His heart opened up to the situation, and his mind was put at ease despite his hectic morning. He didn’t even remember what he was so nervous about now that Taeyong’s here. The pair always had great chemistry, ease of conversation, whenever they were together. They never seemed to run out of things to say to each other. Yuta soon found himself sinking into the soft couch, hugging his knees to his chest as Taeyong told him about how a bunch of grandmas tried to pinch his cheeks on the way to Yuta’s apartment. Yuta finds this adorable, the neighborhood they were at was pretty old so mostly old people lived there. Taeyong really did seem like the mom-magnet type. He’s just too adorable and polite. Yuta then proceeds to talk about his morning, of course leaving out the part where he wrangled honey jars only to throw them in the bathroom so Taeyong wouldn’t see.

A flush from the bathroom was heard before Jungwoo emerged from it, his hair slightly disheveled as he quickly closed the door shut. Yuta assumed the toilet flush was an act for the sake of their guest. Jungwoo really does have a big brain sometimes. 

Jungwoo quickly looks up to the living room to see Taeyong standing up to bow to him. “You must be Jungwoo! I’m Taeyong, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Wow Yuta wasn’t joking when he said you were extremely polite,” Jungwoo laughs lightly, bowing back. “Well, don’t mind me, I’m just going to go take a nap.”

Yuta lets out a breath as he hears Jungwoo’s bedroom door shut, knowing his situation was already taken care of. At least that’s what he thought.

“May I use your bathroom? I really need to pee.” 

A sharp inhale sounded from Yuta as he heard these words come out of Taeyong’s mouth, suddenly sitting up straight from his once comfortable position. Of course he was going to need to go to the bathroom. 

Yuta’s brain goes into overdrive, his heart beating a hundred times faster. “Oh, I wouldn’t go there if I were you.”

Taeyong smiles and cocks his head to the side, thinking Yuta was joking. “And why is that?”

The Japanese boy forms an apology for his roommate as the next few words escape his mouth. “I have a feeling Jungwoo just took a dump and you wouldn’t want to go in there right now.”

“Yuta, I have a sister who gets period diarrhea, I think I can handle whatever Jungwoo left in there.”

Yuta’s heart further sinks into his ass, he tries to think of a better excuse.

“Don’t you want to watch a movie first? At least to get the stench out of the bathroom?” Yuta didn’t even know why he suggested that, how was he even going to fix all his honey mess in time. 

“I would love to, but I can’t really enjoy that with a full bladder,” Taeyong smiles. “I won’t take long.”

It was at this moment where Yuta accepted defeat, his lower lip caught in between his teeth as he slowly trails behind Taeyong who was approaching the bathroom. He was mentally preparing to get yelled at, or to be given the silent treatment, to get disappointed at, he was preparing to lose the friendship he so carefully built. Yuta doesn’t remember a point in his life where he felt this scared, he felt like his hands were tied, unmoving and helpless. He could only ever hope that Taeyong would be willing to at least listen to an explanation that Yuta is not even nearly ready to give him. Should Yuta tell him the truth? Should he make up another lie? How was he supposed to tell Taeyong that he only accepted the honey because he was practically in love with him and didn’t have any other excuse to drop by his stupid stall?

The door swings open and Yuta’s eyes squeeze shut. He convinces himself that he had it coming.

It surprised Yuta when he was only met with silence. His eyes opening to see Taeyong frozen still in front of the open bathroom, in front of him were piles of untouched honey. It felt like a hundred years passed to Yuta until Taeyong turned around to face him. The expression on his face was unreadable and it made Yuta’s heart heavy. Yuta lets out a deep sigh.

“I can explain,” The Japanese boy managed to say softly.

“I’d like to hear it,” Taeyong’s deep voice echoes through the room, walking toward the living room, his shoulder brushing against Yuta’s when he walked past him.

Yuta drags his feet toward the sofa, taking a seat beside Taeyong. The couch sinks further beneath him than how it usually does.

“I guess I should start from the beginning.”

Yuta turns to look at Taeyong who was looking right back at him, his eyes encouraging him to continue, his elbows resting on his knees.

“I actually hate honey,” Yuta flinches at the statement, peeling his eyes off Taeyong’s face. “I honestly just wanted to have a conversation with you the first time I saw you at the market.”

Yuta laughs almost bitterly. “I hated honey but I tasted every sample you gave me. I loved seeing you smile every time I complimented them. And when you told me you wanted to give me free jars every week, I knew that would be the perfect excuse to come see you every week.”

The Japanese boy refused to look at Taeyong’s face, he was too afraid to see the expression it held. 

“My weekends were pretty boring before I met you. You gave me something to look forward to. My stomach gets overwhelmed with butterflies whenever you look into my eyes, my heartbeat was out of control when you gave me the honey kit, knowing full well you made that for me. I love how gentle you are, I love how caring you are, I love the way you make me feel. I guess all I’m saying is… I’m in love with you.”

He said it. Yuta finally said it. He swallowed the lump in his throat before he turned his head to meet Taeyong’s gaze once again but was met with a pair of lips on his.

Taeyong shifts his seating position to face Yuta better, his hands cupping Yuta’s reddened cheeks. Yuta sits frozen in shock but still kisses back. Their lips meet in a soft dance, Taeyong’s tongue barely grazing over Yuta’s bottom lip. The black-haired boy shivers at the contact and it triggers an eruption of butterflies in his stomach.

The pink-haired boy pulls away slightly, their lips still touching. “Yuta you really are an idiot.”

Yuta feels Taeyong’s lips curl up into a smile beneath his, causing him to do the same.

“Did you really think I gave you free honey every week because you were my first customer?”

“Yes?” Yuta shyly moves away from Taeyong.

“I gave you the honey so I could see you every week. So I had an excuse to have you come see me.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I’m in love with you too you dumb bitch,” Taeyong laughs, his eyes sparkling.

Yuta felt his heart explode at Taeyong’s statement. He was his. 

He cups Taeyong’s face and presses his lips against his once more, the both of them smiling into it.

"Wait, I still need to pee though."

Yuta couldn’t believe that the universe brought him the person he loved through something he hated. Though Yuta couldn’t say that he hated honey anymore. He actually started to like it.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This is a friendly reminder to support NCT 2020!! 
> 
> Thank you once again for reading :D


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